THE PEOPLE OF GOD
| God's Covenant with People > 1 2 3 4 5 |
Lesson 2: God is OneBefore you do this lesson, read these verses from the Taurat:
Now read the lesson and do the test at the end. The lesson explains what you have read in the Taurat. Three months after the People of Israel left Egypt they came to Mount Sinai in the desert. Earlier God had spoken to Moses from a burning bush at this same mountain. Now Moses and the people thought the mountain would be a good place to rest. But while they rested, God appeared to them. Earlier God had appeared to Moses only. But now He showed His will to all of the people. Before we study this important event let us look quickly at what we have already learned. You remember that Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating the fruit from the tree in the garden. We learned that their children also sinned greatly. People everywhere turned away from God and tried to forget God. Soon all over the world people prayed to idols* and false gods. They turned away from the one true God and trusted in false gods. Of course, there were a few people like Abraham who believed in the one true God, but most people prayed to idols. But at Mount Sinai God revealed Himself to the People of Israel in a special way. They learned that there is one true God. Let us see how God taught them. God is Most GreatFirst God told the People of Israel to get ready to listen to Him. They needed to wash their clothes. The men were to stay away from women. God also warned the people not to touch the mountain. Anyone who touched the mountain would die. For this reason Moses put a fence around the mountain so that, no one would get near it. The people spent two days getting ready for God to reveal his will to them. On the morning of the third day everyone gathered close to the mountain and God appeared. First there were great thunders, clouds, smoke, the loud sound of trumpets, fire, and a terrible earthquake (Exodus 19:16-18). Everyone was afraid. God called Moses and told him to be sure that no one came near the mountain. God said that if anyone touched the mountain he would die! Then while everyone listened in fear, God began to speak. The Ten CommandmentsGod gave ten laws to the People of Israel. These laws are called the Ten Commandments. They are found in Exodus 20:1-17. Only God is GodThe first two commandments show us that God is One. The first commandment says: "Worship no god but me" (Exodus 20:3). The second commandment is: "Do not make for yourselves images*" (Exodus 20:4). Throughout the Old Testament these two commandments were the most important of all. If a man was found praying to an idol, his parents were supposed to bring him to the leaders of the nation and then everyone threw stones at him until he died. Praying to false gods is a very serious sin. When we worship someone or something other than the one true God, we sin greatly. Jews, Christians, and Muslims have always agreed that God is One. In the third commandment God says: "Do not use my name for evil purposes." (Exodus 20:7). This means that we must use God's name carefully. We should only use God's name when we worship and praise him or when we speak about him with great respect. Later the People of Israel respected God's name so much that they washed their hands before writing his name. God is GoodThe fourth commandment shows us that we should rest one day in each week (Exodus 20:8-11). This shows us that God is very kind. He knows that our bodies get tired and that we cannot work all the time. On this day of rest we should also have a special time to worship God and thank him for all that he has done for us. Most nations today respect this rule. In some countries people rest on Friday. In other countries people rest on Sunday, and the People of Israel rest on Saturday. The last six commandments tell us how to act with other people (Exodus 20:12-17). These six commandments are the foundation of our modern laws and national constitutions*. Our laws today are based on the Ten Commandments because in our hearts we all know that these rules are right. The People were AfraidBut the people were afraid when they heard God. They moved farther and farther from the mountain because they were afraid that they would die. The people told Moses that they did not want to hear God (Exodus 20:18-19). The People of Israel were afraid because they had seen that God was very great. God is powerful. God is One. There is no god but God. They saw that God is most great, and they were afraid. They were also afraid of punishment. Some of them had told lies. Some had stolen. Others had wished for the money or clothing of someone else. When they heard God, they all realized that they had sinned. We usually think that we are good. But when we hear God's Word, we understand that we have sinned. God Made a Covenant with the PeopleWhen the People of Israel heard God, they were sorry for their sin and they wanted to obey God. So they accepted God's covenant with them and promised right there in front of the mountain: "We will do every thing the Lord has said" (Exodus 24:3). And God also made a promise for he said that the People of Israel would be his own possession and that he would bless them. God made known to the Prophet Moses that God's covenant with the People of Israel was for all people. Everyone everywhere was welcome to become a part of the People of the Covenant. Circumscision was a sign to show that a person had accepted God's covenant. (See Numbers 15:14-16 and Exodus 12:48-49). God's covenant with the People of Israel was that they should obey him and become his own people. The people were glad because of God's covenant with them. Here is a list of difficult words in this lesson. Test 2: God's Covenant with PeopleHere is the test for Lesson 2. Write the letter of the correct answer on the line provided. Name:__________________________________No.:______ |